Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/210/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 9

79

ws v. hard to locate. The 

Lewis Gunners of the 2

plns wh were held up

moved forward & dealt 

with these guns from 

the open. The Germs were

trying to fire at them but they

got in first. As their fire

died, our men made for 

the trenches by short rushes

& got in. 22 Germs

surrendered from this place -

they had no chance of

getting away. A battery on

the left flank above Mericourt

putting in gas & h. e.

caused a bit of trouble but

/ trenches were good.             

To protect / consolidatn

80

fighting patrols were sent

out in / afternoon. They

killed a few Germans. They

were almost to / outskirts

of Proyart. Later in / afternoon

the Germans got some other

guns ^& fired into the gully by Bn H.Q.

where a supply dump was

& a German canteen w plenty

of beer.

In the fighting on the

scrub on / objive at R13 centl.

the the 2 tanks were sent

for but had gone back. The

While the Germans held us here

they must have established

the small post wh D Coy

had to meet. In this

fight the smoke bombs were

80a

On Aug. 8. 48 Bn lost:-

k. Lt. Neild ^J.G. O'Neill - on the final

objective in front of the 

little wood, with C. Coy

Wd Lt. W.B. Carr MC DCM (who took Bn HQ

at Monument wd with Stokell). L.G. ws fired over

his back at Bullecourt). Hit after D Coy got in.

Wd. Lt B.A. Jones, hit coming 

up to Accroche Wood.

Lt Stokell M.C. at Richmond

Gully, waiting.

Lt L.L. Carter M.M. on

the final objve. with D 

Coy. He ws a B Coy offr

but had come round to / left

to see what ws holding the 2 platoons.

He took them over / top with the L. Gunners

Col Perry wd. R.o.D.

81

either from arty or aeroplanes

- not smoke bombs from rifle

grenades. The smoke ws on /

ridge just abt this point.

In this fighting the officers

concerned were - Cap Lt Potts

MC. (now Bar) & Sergt Kealy, D.C.M.

Sergt Seal MM. did well there

too & Pte Barry. They got 

round this oppsitn by

bombing up / trench.

48 Bn had 65 o.r.

The youngster who took

out the fighting patrol towds

Proyart ws Lieut. MBT McDowell,

M.C. M.M (the same offr who

with 6 men got thro Monument

Wood on May 3.).

NB (Afr May 3. An offr of 4 MG Bn is

sd to have got into Proyart.

81a

Dernancourt Ap. 5.

When Brown went down to the post he

saw the Colonel of the Tommies (xxx &

told him tt they were moving back onto Pioneer

trench & tt this left no one on his flank. He told

Their C.O told Lt Ferguson ^(Liaison Offr) that he ws satisfied that everything possible had bn done.

This bought / line into Pioneer trench.

Later the Tommies got out & swung across

the valley from abt Z northwds.

During the attack Sgr Tregowath in the

morning went across to the Tommies

at X Y giving them the positn on the

rt (as known to Bn H.Q.) He first

tried (as Coy Sgr.) to signal / message across

to / Tommies. They cdnt get it. He

accly took it across. He ws hit severely

abt ½ way across - he had 200 yds

to go. He crawled & stumbled under

this m.g. fire & ws hit once more. He finally

got to / Tommies & before his wds were attended 

to he delivered his message & ws taken away 

on a stretcher.

82

[48 Bn. Monument Wood After 

Monument Wd on May 3 the

German Jaegers, who fought 

so well, aftwds sent in

Lt Garland's & ? Capt Cummings'

effects.).].

Albert  48 Bn Dernauct.

Diagram - see  original document

German barrage

lifted agn abt 9.

At / dead ground

the resistance in the

Farm prob surprised him. At 9 he came on again. 

He got no further. The rt flank came in abt 11.00 p.m.

to Pioneer trench. 5 Pln got back with Cummings abt 3. 

Brown went down to Shepherdson. Coy H.Q. signalled 

them to move to Pioneer Trench wh they did as shown.       

83

48 Bn. Sept 18.

k. Lt. Ward M.C. Killed on night

of Sept. 18 when they went up to take

the bit of trench on the rt of our

Bde sector -

The 2 Coys of 48 Bn got in at

the fork trench at A where rt of 46 

Bn was.

Diagram - see original document

They then worked rt to B where

there ws a Str. Point - They got 7 m.

guns & 2 prisoners, the rest escaping

towds X.  All / morning the Germs  

bombed up from Z. Lt Reid held this

for 5 hrs w his platoon. The German

arty and arty protecting the Tommies

blew them us out o / trench abt 2 pm Sept 19,

84

& they retired putting in 3

stops from B to A. The arty

put us out of there - the Germ.

estabd himself at B again.

48 Bn estabd themselves in

Onoto trench & touched with

Tommies who by then were in

Fourmie trench in touch on our

rt (line from there uncertain

to us).

Ward ws k by a shell in 

Onoto trench.

After dark 19/20 the same Coys

attacked up Pen trench & over the

top from Onoto, with a

sprinkling barrage. They took the

S/P at B & put blocks at

X Y & Z & connected w / 

Tommies by outposts S. of Entrance ? Entrepot Trench -                  

85

That ws / line handed over.

The point B is the summit.

They had / whole view o /

hillside then.

Lt R.N.J. Fletcher wd. 18 Sept.

just getting to D Coys objve.

(Centre Coy)

This day Capt Anderson D.S.O. (for this)

had worked out to / rt

onto / top o / ridge w his

L.Gs & when / Germans

c/attacked he got onto the 

rt o / attack w his L.Gs.

& the 45 Bn from the left.

As soon as 45 Bn started

Andersons men got up on the

crest o / hill & saw these Germs

& turned into them w L. Gs.              

86

When 48 Bn struck Cooker Trench

part of the ^German Coy wh ws holding it

fought. Others got back to Bn

H.Q. in a copse in rear & in /

Sunken road abt 600 yds from /

rt of our objve. They too fought

from here - their offrs cd be seen

trying to reorganise them.

Capt Anderson's (C Coy) Lieut

Gelston & Lt Parry's platoons of

C Coy were pushed forwd

& Parry's Pln worked round

to / rt; round / shoulder o /

hill. The Tommies had got 

into Maire Trench  on / rt. Parry

took the Tommies up to their trench.

(He ws the liaison officer with /

Tommies' left flank) He then

came back to the Coy. led his Pln

round /shoulder o / hill. The

87

L Gunners covered / copse

& / bombers worked round

/ reverse slope o / hill & took

some German prisoners; bombed

the Bn H.Q. dugout (Sergt Price

who led this got a D.C.M.) & took

a no of prisoners incl. 11 Germ.

offrs. & 60 or 70 men.

Meanwhile a L. Gunner

from No 9 Pln named Rochford

pushed well fowd w his gun &

when / Germs came out o / Sunken

Road he opened fire on them. They

were waiting for their Bn HQrs.

He killed 34 & all day long our

Ambulances were carrying back

their wd.

At / same time Gelstons Pln

had contributed by working over

/ crest (by / Sunken Rd) & down /            

88

other side. The Germans there were

thus enclosed & 187 prisoners

were obtained (including Price's 

60).

Just as these prisoners

were coming back the 45 Bn

was seen coming up / slope

towds Cooker trench x in arty formatn.

They moved exactly as on parade

tho / German ws shelling.

As they passed thro the

C Coy 48 Bn began to dig

in. B Coy The fight w the

c/attack was not seen by 

C. Coy. 

1. Write Treloar abt Sergt Stafford & Rasebeck & Wilkins

2. Write "  abt McSharry's Diary w Popes Diary

3. Circular abt photos

Capt F. Anderson

48 Bn now in S.A.

has some fine photos (up to

Messines)

No. 3.

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